Fear of the Unknown
by Clair Lawson
Summary: A new year, a new dance. Nan seems to be jealous of the relationship between Dan and Bess. Does she harbor secret feelings for Dan? Franz sends a letter to Jo with shocking news that could change her life and Plumfield forever.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Little Men from the book or the television series.

Chapter One

Dan closed his eyes and let the soft summer sun soak into his skin. He loved the long summer days and he loved spending them with his friends at Plumfield. A loud noise startled him and he opened his eyes quickly. Tommy stood over a broken mug that had fallen to the ground while he was trying to take some coffee to Nick, who was working in the barn. Tommy's straw hat was sliding off of his dark brown curly hair. He grabbed at the hat desperately but it fell on top of the coffee wreckage and was now covered in dark brown stains. Dan watched from afar as Mrs. Jo, with her kind dark eyes and ready smile, rushed out of the house, eager to help Tommy clean up his mess and to assure him that he did not break the only coffee mug in all of Plumfield. Tommy shook his head at her remark.

"We used to have more coffee mugs." He said in his soft raspy voice, "But I broke all of them too." Mrs. Jo shook her head and smiled.

"Well then." She said. "I suppose I must send Asia into town to go buy us some more." Tommy nodded and mournfully picked up his hat.

"If I give Asia some money do you think she would go buy me a new hat?" He asked. Mrs. Jo laughed.

"I don't know." She said. "Why don't you go to the kitchen and ask Asia yourself?" Tommy smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Then he turned around and started to walk away but Mrs. Jo's sharp voice turned him back around. "After you finish cleaning up this mess." Tommy groaned but Mrs. Jo only tousled his hair and laughed quietly. Dan followed her with his eyes as she walked to the garden, where Nat was playing his violin unceasingly. His bright green eyes were full of frustration. He kept starting the song over and over again, trying to find the right notes to complete his melody. Nat hardly noticed Mrs. Jo's presence and Dan watched her face as she listened to the work of 'the genius'.

"Nat." She said and Dan watched his best friend jump when he heard the voice. He smiled softly when he looked up.

"Oh, Hi, Mrs. Jo." He said bashfully, "I didn't see you there." Mrs. Jo gave him a warm smile.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you." She said. "I just wanted you to know that I think your song is coming along beautifully." Nat beamed with pride. "Would you mind playing it for us when it's finished?" She asked. Nat shook his head.

"No, of course not Mrs. Jo." He said, "I'll try and finish it as soon as I can." Mrs. Jo nodded.

"Good." She said. "But don't finish it too fast. Be sure the song means something to you before you tell me it's done." Nat grinned.

"Okay Mrs. Jo." He said and he turned back to his violin. Mrs. Jo stood and watched him for a few minutes before one of Nan's antics caught her attention. She nodded to Nat and headed for the edge of the woods, where Nan was struggling to walk with a five gallon pail that was filled to the brim with water. Dan shook his head as he watched Mrs. Jo approach the unsuspecting suspect. He was too far away from them to hear their conversation but from Nan's disappointed face he could tell Mrs. Jo had won this battle.

Dan sighed and walked out from under the shade of the willow tree to go talk to Nan, Plumfield's resident 'doctor'. Ever since the measles hit Plumfield about two and a half years ago, Nan had made up her mind to become a doctor. Only a few boys doubted her wisdom and experience, while the rest of the boys trusted her with their lives. Dan approached the defeated prankster with caution, knowing from experience that Nan could not be trusted to miss an opportunity to douse someone with a five gallon pail full of water. He watched the pail warily and quickly blurted out his ailment.

"Nan." He said. "I've been havin' some trouble sleeping lately and I was wonderin' if you knew somethin' that could help." Nan lifted an eyebrow and bit her bottom lip. This was her thinking face and Dan was wise enough not to speak while Nan perused through her mental library. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't think of anything off the top of my head but I'll look into it and get back to you." She said quickly. Dan raised an eyebrow and stared into Nan's blue eyes.

"You can't think of anything?" He asked. "Honest?"

"Well," She said. "You could try one thing." Dan nodded.

"I'll try anything." He laughed. Nan smiled mischievously and Dan realized his mistake too late. Nan began to splash him with the water from her bucket. He was soon as soaked as she was.

"This might help you sleep." She said, laughing. "Or you could ask Bess to the dance and really stop your problem." Dan's face became serious.

"What makes you think I'm going to the dance this year?" Dan asked, defensively.

"Well I don't know." She said. "Maybe I think you're going because you've been practicing your dancing instead of your lessons and I see the way you get all tongue-tied around Bess. She went to the dance with you last year. Why would she refuse you this year?" Before Dan had the chance to give her an answer, Bess walked out of the house. Her pale blue dress brought out the color of her soft eyes. Dan watched her with his big brown eyes full of admiration. She walked through the garden and down to the barn, with Nick's coffee in a teacup. The wind blew her blond curls off of her shoulders and then set them daintily back down.

Nan watched Bess jealously and while Dan was distracted she stormed into the house and up to her room. She sat on her bed and stared at the floor. The truth finally sank in. Dan didn't want to go to the dance with his friend Bess. Dan wanted to go to the dance with his sweetheart Bess.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Jo sat at the desk in her husband's old study and looked at the letters she had received in the mail. Two of them were from Mr. McBride, who was always asking her to sell Plumfield. One was from her sister, Meg, who was visiting with an old friend in New York. And the last one was from Franz. Jo read Franz's letter through twice before she went downstairs to gather the children and tell them the news. Halfway down the stairs she thought it might be a better idea to wait until dinner to tell them the news. When her foot touched the bottom step, she decided she was going to keep the news a secret and let the children figure out the news as a surprise.

Asia was in the kitchen, arguing with Tommy about the cost of a good straw hat. Jo walked in and was immediately pounced upon by the two parties.

"Asia thinks I shouldn't spend more than fifty cents on a new hat." Tommy said. "But I want to buy one that will last so I think I should be able to spend at least seventy five cents, if not a dollar. What do you think Mrs. Jo?" Mrs. Jo shook her head.

"I don't know if I'm qualified to answer your question Tommy." She said. "I don't really know much about hats." Tommy sighed.

"But suppose you did." He said. "How much would you be willing to spend?" Jo was saved from his question by Bess entering the kitchen.

"Aunt Jo." She said. "Have you seen Nan? She was talking to Dan only ten minutes ago and now we can't find her."

"Did you check your room?" Jo asked. Bess shook her head.

"Dan doesn't think she would come inside on a beautiful day like this." She said. Jo sighed.

"I'll help you look for her." She said. "You go back outside and help Dan look there and I'll check the house." And with that speech Jo left the kitchen argument to be settled between the student and the housekeeper.

Mrs. Jo let out a sigh of relief as she climbed the stairs to the girls' room. She made a mental note to thank Bess later for getting her out of that scrape. She finally reached the door and was surprised to hear sobs coming from the other side. She opened the door gently and saw Nan sitting on her bed with tears streaming down her face. Mrs. Jo was next to her in an instant.

"What is the matter, my dear?" She asked. Nan wiped her eyes and looked at Mrs. Jo.

"Nothing." She said, but her voice betrayed her true answer.

"It's okay." Mrs. Jo said. "You can tell me anything." Nan nodded.

"I know Mrs. Jo" She said. "But I don't think I can talk about it right now. Maybe when I'm calmed down." Mrs. Jo nodded.

"I'll stay right here and wait." She said. Nan nodded and took deep breaths in an effort to calm down.

Dan climbed up the stairs softly and slowly. He didn't want to fall prey to another one of Nan's pranks. He made it down the hallway safely and was about to peer into Nan's room when he heard voices coming from the other side.

"I think I can talk to you now." He heard Nan say. She sounded like she had been crying. Dan furrowed his eyebrows. Nan was the stoic leader of many of the boys, she couldn't have been crying. Dan leaned closer to the door so he could hear the conversation better.

"That's good." Said Mrs. Jo, "You just tell me what your problem is and how I can solve it." Nan sighed.

"I don't think you can fix this one Mrs. Jo." Nan said. Jo laughed.

"Well let me be the judge of that." She said.

"It started this morning." Nan said. "Well actually it started a couple of days ago. I've been noticing certain things about Bess and Dan."

"What kind of things?" Mrs. Jo asked. _Yes, _Dan thought_, what kind of things?_

"When they look at each other," Nan began, "They forget everything and every_one_ around them. For instance, this morning Dan asked me a question on how to cure his sleeping problem. We got into a water fight and then I told him to ask Bess to the dance, well to go with her as a friend really. But when Bess walked out of the house, Dan completely forgot about me and he only had eyes for the 'Princess'. We didn't even get to finish our conversation." Dan was confused. What was Nan saying?

"Sounds like you're jealous of Bess." Mrs. Jo said. Nan scoffed.

"Me, jealous of Bess?" She asked, "I am not jealous of Bess."

"I think you're jealous of Bess because of the way that Dan looks at her." Jo said. Dan's eyes widened. "I think you like Dan as much as Bess does."

"Sometimes," Nan said, "I think I love Dan…" Dan pulled his ear away from the door and he scrambled down the stairs. Nan was in love with him. _I need to talk to Nick. _He thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Little Men or any of the characters affiliated with it.**

**Chapter Three**

"Sometimes, I think I'm in love with Dan."

The words sang in his ears as he rushed down the stairs and out the back door. Nan was in love with him? Dan shook his head quickly. It was all wrong. Nan couldn't love him. Nan didn't even like him. And Dan for sure didn't like her. Sometimes he wasn't even sure if Nan was his friend. She was too much of a know-it-all; she always had to be right. She followed him around and set up pranks for him to trip over. Nan was one of the boys. She had always been one of the boys. That was why Dan felt so comfortable teasing her, pulling her hair and racing her across the garden.

He looked up and knocked on the door to Nick's room and workshop. Nick opened the door slowly and let Dan in. Dan walked to the workbench and sat down. Nick moved back to the table and his coffee. He took a few loud gulps before setting the teacup down and picking up the block of wood that lay beside it. He stayed silent, knowing that Dan would talk when he was ready. It was something that he had learned from watching Jo. She knew not to push for more information than the boys, and girls, were ready to give. Dan fiddled with one of the tools that Nick had sitting on the workbench. He took in a deep breath before he started to talk.

"I have a big problem." He said. Nick nodded.

"What is it?" He asked with a southern drawl. Dan shifted his eyes to the floor.

"I just overheard Nan and Ms. Jo talking." He paused.

"And?" Nick asked.

"And Nan says that she's in love with me." Dan blurted out quickly. Nick started to laugh but stopped when he saw Dan's troubled eyes.

"Why is that such a problem?" He asked.

"Because I don't think of Nan like that." Dan said. "She's not a sweetheart kind of girl. She's more of a best friend. She hardly ever even acts like a girl anyway. How am I supposed to think of her as a girl if she refuses to be one more than half of the time? And sometimes I can't stand her! I can't tell her that, though."

"I think Nan could be a 'sweetheart kind of girl.'" Nick said. "If somebody would just give her a chance. There are a lot of great things about her. You know that." Dan smiled.

"She can always make me laugh." He said. "She can tell the best stories. I can always count on her to help me with anything. She helps me with the homework almost every night. She's always good for a fight. She doesn't mind getting dirty when she helps me finish my chores. And she always looks for the up side of everything. I didn't even know that she could cry until today. She's always been so strong."

"Everyone cries sometimes." Nick said. "Even the people who we think are the strongest. I think they cry the most. They just know how to hide it better than the rest of us."

"What am I going to do, Nick?" Dan asked. "I was going to ask Bess to the dance, but now I don't think I can. I can't hurt Nan like that."

"What if you got one of the other boys, maybe Tommy, or someone like that to ask her to the dance before you ask Bess?" Nick suggested.

"You're a genius!" Dan said, grinning.

...

Nan sat on her bed wiping away her last few tears. Ms. Jo had left to go tell Bess and Dan that she was fine. She held back more tears. She wasn't fine, though. She knew that she was being silly. Dan was only a boy after all. But she couldn't help liking him. He was so brave and recklessly happy. But at the same time, he managed to be thoughtful and funny and gentle. It was his eyes that Nan liked the most. They were warm and brown and sometimes she thought she could tell those eyes everything. She wanted to tell him everything but he only had eyes for Bess. And Bess couldn't care less about him. She thought it was fun to lead him on. Nan felt another wave of tears spill out of her eyes. She wiped them quickly as her door opened. Nat stood in front of her with his violin in his hand. He set it down on the desk when he saw her red eyes.

"I was looking for you." He said cautiously, not wanting to bring up her tears. "Ms. Jo said you were in here. But I thought she was lying. It's such a beautiful day outside and I knew that you wouldn't want to miss a second of it, sitting cooped up in here. There's an apple tree out there that is just calling your name. Even I could hear it. I know you would never miss it but Ms. Jo insisted that you were here. And here you are." Nan nodded.

"Here I am." She said with a small smile. Nat always knew what to say. That thought made her tears come back, though she didn't know why.

"Can I help?" He asked. Nan laughed.

"I'm just being silly." She said. "I shouldn't even be crying. I just saw the way that Dan and Bess look at each other and I guess I'm jealous."

"Why?" Nat asked.

"Because, I like Dan too."

...

Nat felt like he had been punched in the stomach. Nan liked Dan? Of course she did. He could see it now. The way she followed him around and teased him more than the other boys. The way she asked for his opinion on everything she did. Why shouldn't she like him? He was the perfect one. Dashing and daring. Dan wasn't afraid of anything. He and Nan were alike in that way.

Nat looked in her eyes that were filled with tears and he knew that he had to help her, even if it hurt him.

"I just got a great idea!" He said, and he hoped he sounded cheerful. "What if I try to help and get Dan to ask you to the dance instead of Bess?" Nan smiled.

"Would you do that, Nat?" She asked happily. "That would be wonderful!" Nat smiled, glad that he could help her be happy again.

"I'd do anything for you." He said. "You know that."

And he meant it.

...


End file.
